AFFLUENT workers who have moved into the suburbs are being urged by the Church of England to return to Birmingham's inner city areas to help stamp out segregation.

AFFLUENT workers who have moved into the suburbs are being urged by the Church of England to return to Birmingham's inner city areas to help stamp out segregation.

A group of eight vicars have voiced concerns about deprived areas becoming "increasingly Islamic in character" following an exodus of people from other religions.

They called on white, Sikh and Hindu people to consider returning to the inner cities to help create "genuinely mixed areas".

The concerns were raised by a group of CoE clergy who work in the city's deprived, high immigrant areas of Bordesley, Ward End, Saltley, Small Heath, Sparkhill and Sparkbrook.

They claim "real engagement" between communities is needed to help eradicate the "real and urgent issue" of separation between Muslims and non-Muslims.

The concerns follow comments from the Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, who claimed Islamic extremists were cutting off many communities and transforming them into "no-go areas" for non-Muslims.

The Birmingham vicars denied there were any "no-go areas" in predominantly Muslim neighbourhoods in the city.

However, referring to the concerns of Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, that Britain was "sleepwalking towards segregation", they said urgent action was needed to build bridges between communities.

They said: "We are very concerned at the number of Christians as well as Sikhs and Hindus who are moving out of our neighbourhoods, which is the main reason that they are becoming increasingly Islamic in character."